Telephonphobia. Why don’t my kids answer the phone? 

If you're finding it difficult to communicate with your kids, or grandkids you're not alone, and they have got a name for it. It's called Telephonphobia. Generally speaking, it's the fear of making or taking phone calls and it affects millennials and Gen Zs to some degree. 

Dr Lena Waizenegger from Auckland University of Technology says,
“In general, we can't really generalize it to all and every person. But what we can say is that many Millennials and Gen Zs prefer texting over calling. This is mainly rooted in sort of a rise in alternative forms of communication. We are constantly on social media, we are texting - because these levels, these platforms, really offer this level of convenience. " 

This is a problem for some of us older folks some of whom still haven't adapted to E-mail yet. I prefer face to face conversations. Even a phone call is sometimes uncomfortable for me. Turn that into a text? No, I don’t think so, I don’t like to text, I have what I call “stuttering thumb syndrome”. If I do text 95% of the time I'm just dictating into the phone and hope it comes out right. Sometimes I used to dictate gibberish into the phone just to see how the phone would spell it. That's not as much fun as it used to be now that voice recognition is better. 

My kids have finally started to adapt to my peculiar ways. They actually answer the phone when I call, well sometimes.  

So, I guess the new accepted practice is to text, not call. If you call, they'll think it's an emergency and be all freaked out. 

I honestly don't know if I can adapt. 

Telephonophobia: Why so many young people don't answer the phone | RNZ News
How to tackle your telephone hang-ups | RNZ